José María Narváez (1768-1840) is one of Mexico’s forgotten heroes. Captain George Vancouver is usually given the credit for exploring the Georgia Strait and discovering the site of the city that now bears his name, but actually José María Narváez y Gervete was the first European to sail and chart those waters a full year […]
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A young couple who became famous artists pioneered the San Miguel de Allende foreign community. San Miguel de Allende’s vibrant art and music scene is deservedly famous. Among the early pioneers responsible for this are two Canadian artists: Leonard and Reva Brooks. John Virtue’s book about the couple, subtitled Artists in Exile in San Miguel […]
Continue ReadingAfter the Conquest, Spanish settlers introduced numerous Old World species into the New World. The most pernicious introductions were human-borne diseases, which led to the rapid and tragic decimation of the indigenous population. However, most of the introductions were deliberate, made with the intention of increasing the diversity of available food and resources. Among the […]
Continue ReadingThe first Whitbread Round-The-World yacht race was won by a Mexican. Most people do not associate Mexico and Mexicans with yachting, but it’s a fact that the first Whitbread Round-The-World Yacht Race, in 1973-4, was won by the Mexican ketch Sayula II, skippered by Ramón Carlin, a Mexican businessman who made his money from washing […]
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In the golden age of steam, railway lines were built all over Mexico. Rail quickly became THE way to travel. Depending on your status and wealth, you could travel third class, second class or first class. Anyone desiring greater comfort and privacy could add their luxury carriage to a regular train. To avoid mixing with […]
Continue ReadingA Mexican who tried to revolutionize the world of classical music was once nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1950, Julián Carrillo was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics. The nomination was something of a surprise to the scientific community since Carrillo was far better known as one of Mexico’s top violinists […]
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Juan O’Gorman was born on July 6, 1905, in Coyoacán, Mexico City. His father, Cecil Crawford O’Gorman, was a mining engineer and artist of Irish origin; his mother was Mexican. Juan was educated at the National University (UNAM), and became a well known architect. A follower of the Franco-German rationalism school, he was one of […]
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Modern sound recordings usually involve tiny disks which can hold dozens of tracks, specially designed to be easily portable and convenient. The Maya may have had different priorities. David Lubman has proposed that the earliest sound recording so far discovered on the planet may well be the main pyramid at Chichen Itza in the Yucatan. […]
Continue ReadingWhen Mexico braced herself for the imminent arrival of cholera from South America fifteen years ago, many people believed that the disease had never previously been known here. During the nineteenth century, however, there were several outbreaks, including the epidemic of 1833 in which more than 3,000 people died in the city of Guadalajara alone. […]
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The first detailed scientific account of Lake Chapala was written by Henri Guillaume Galeotti. It was based on a visit to Chapala in February-March 1837. The article was published first in French in 1839, and then shortly afterwards in Spanish in El Mosaico Mexicano. It remains unclear precisely why Galeotti prepared his excellent article devoted to the […]
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